September 06, 2007

Drinking ages revisited

Research published in the Journal of Adolescent Health in 2004 found that adolescents whose parents permitted them to attend unchaperoned parties where drinking occurred had twice the average binge-drinking rate. But the study also had another, more arresting conclusion: Children whose parents introduced drinking to the children at home were one-third as likely to binge.

"It appears that parents who model responsible drinking behaviors have the potential to teach their children the same," noted Kristie Foley, the principal author of the study. While the phrasing was cautious, the implication of the study's finding needs to be highlighted: Parents who do not introduce children to alcohol in a home setting might be setting them up to become binge drinkers later on. You will not likely hear this at your school's parent drug- and alcohol-awareness nights.

Exactly. If children learn appropriate drinking behavior, if they are exposed to adults who partake of quality beverages in moderation, they will learn that there is more to drinking than seeing how fast one can get drunk.

I never got in the "kegger" mentality, in large part because the drinking I was exposed to was of the "after dinner cocktail" variety. The quality of the drink was emphasized, not the amount consumed.

This blog isn't the first to point out that we have combat veterans that are viewed by the state as fully capable of life-or-death decisions but who cannot be trusted to buy a beer in their home town. It is absurd - and, as the WSJ article points out, - ultimately counterproductive.